Shoefly - Revisit

We were having a family “discussion” the other day (it was a weekend) about where to have lunch. We all have our favorite places and no one could seem to agree. Hubby mentioned Shoefly because even though I had been twice, he had not yet been and wanted to give it a go. I was looking forward to trying something different, so of course I was game.

Based on several recommendations, I decided to get the duck wings off of the appetizer menu ($6) with honey Dijon sauce (you have your choice of several sauces) and the small house salad ($4). The duck wings are pretty darn delicious. The extra meaty and just slightly gamey wings (think of a large chicken wing made with dark meat) were messy but a favorite of the table. My son decided on our next visit he would get an order of these without any sauce. I am not sure I made the right choice as far as the sauce goes—I think maybe the slightly sweet chili oil might be better with duck. I am intrigued by the chimichurri. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the flavor of the honey Dijon (lots of grainy mustard), but I think it would be better with something else.  I was kind of disappointed by the salad. It was mainly romaine lettuce with a bit of radish, a few capers, a boiled egg , Parmesan ,and some green beans (I believe). It was tossed in a lemon/olive oil dressing. I don’t know, the whole thing was just too lettuce heavy and I couldn’t really get much lemon (I need my acid) in the dressing. I love capers, but it’s hard to get one on your fork in a salad. It was just kind of bland. Oh well.

Hubby had the beer battered walleye at my recommendation (half order $11). It was just as good as the first time I had it—moist, tender fish with a light Bier Brewery batter. The fries were some of the best I’ve had on my visits—these were quite crisp. And I love the tartar sauce they serve alongside, as I said in my first post.  We also shared an order of mac and cheese for the table ($7). I still think it could use a little salt and pepper, and unfortunately this one wasn’t quite heated all the way through, but we all enjoyed it anyway.

My daughter had Anna’s gnocchi ($6). Ok, she had two orders of Anna’s gnocchi (so make that $12). She loves gnocchi and enjoyed it. Not thinking it was housemade or anything, but cooked well. It looks like they have changed the menu lately though and it is now ravioli which might make her sad. My son had a burger ($9 w/ cheese) off the regular menu (there isn’t one on the kid’s menu). He quite enjoyed it.

We had the brownie batter wontons for dessert ($5). (My daughter always checks the desserts before she even reads the regular menu). I really quite liked them. They really tasted like raw brownie batter fried into wontons. They were served with a cream sauce alongside which sadly spilled out of its little cup making the parts it touched go a little soft, but it was tasty as well.  I hate to say it but they took these off the menu too in their recent changes because I would get those again too!

I am glad to see they are changing the menu up occasionally (looks like seasonally) even if they do take some of our family favorites off. I appreciate the variety in a family-friendly restaurant like this. I am particularly interested in trying the new asparagus and goat cheese fritters.

Shoefly Public House

122 East 22^nd Street

Indy  46202

317/283-5007

www.shoeflypublichouse.com

Movable Feast -Revisit

I met my favorite Pilates instructor for lunch the other day at Movable Feast—it’s quick and right by our houses. Although their chicken salad is one of my favorite usuals, it was so cold on this day, I had to get something warm. It was Wednesday and the special of the day (and every Wednesday I believe) was the jerk pork sandwich ($6 I believe). I wasn't even gonna write about this lunch, but then I had the sandwich.

This sandwich is great. Really, really great. It is roasted pork tenderloin that is seasoned with jerk seasoning and sliced pretty thin. It is served on a fairly soft baguette with melty Swiss cheese, lettuce and jerk mayo. The thing about this sandwich, besides for the exceptionally tender pork and the kick from the jerk seasoning is that there is a touch of tanginess. I am not sure if the lettuce was lightly dressed or the tanginess was coming from the mayo, but it was a perfect combination of flavors. I tend to avoid sandwiches like this because so often the heat is the dominant thing, but this one was just balanced in the right way and still had a fair amount of heat. I intended to eat only half of it and ended up eating the whole thing. And I went home and told hubby about it because on a Wednesday very soon he needs to try it as well.

I also had a cup of clam chowder to start—it was the classic New England style—this one heavier on the potato aspect than the cream aspect. It made it a starchier taste than some. It had a good flavor although nowhere near as exciting to me as the sandwich. I liked that there are saltines on every table, because I like to crumble crackers in my soup—particularly clam chowder.

We also shared a red velvet cupcake (I barely got any before she ate it before we even got our lunches). Nice and moist with just the right amount of cream cheese icing. As popular as cupcakes are these days, it’s nice to eat a simple homemade one that is just as good as those cupcake places (and cheaper).  They do a really good “outrageous” chocolate chip cookie too (just beware there’s peanut butter in there).

I couldn't even get a pic before
she ate half of it.

I really enjoy this place. The people who run it and friendly and seem to know a lot of their customers well. Oh, and as a public service announcement, my lunch date wants me to tell everyone that eats here that when it is cold outside to please close the door behind you (it doesn’t automatically close). It’s a small place and when the door is left open, it is really cold.

Now I am wondering about other specials…you guys have any favorites?

Movable Feast

5741 East 71^st Street

Indy 46220

317/577-9901

http://www.movablefeast.name/

Road Trip- Fireside Inn, Enochsburg

Hubby has a very good friend who lives in Cincinnati, but we never seem to be able to make our schedules work to hang out very often because we are all so busy. We decided we would just pick a random place in the middle and go on a weeknight instead. Exactly (literally, the restaurant was exactly 1 hour and 7 minutes away from each of us) in the middle was the Fireside Inn. They specialize in fried chicken. So yeah, no brainer.

It is really a teeny tiny town (Enochsburg) with pretty much just this restaurant. And it’s really a little bar with a family side, which looks like it was built in the 1960s and hasn’t changed much since. Completely casual. You have to laugh when you look at the menu—pretty much every single thing is fried.

We started with an order of the fried pickles (I didn’t take note of the price, but I think they were under $2). They were probably the best fried pickles I have ever had and were probably the highlight of the meal for me. They were super-pickley. Not thick, cucumber-type fresh pickles, but the thin, really salty types you find on burgers. They were battered in a super crisp batter and were just delicious. They were served with a creamy horseradish sauce. I couldn’t stop eating them.

We also had an order of chicken livers ($3.25) because I love them and they are only available on Thursdays, which was the day we were there. Unfortunately, these weren’t very good because they were really over-fried and burnt. That slightly gamey, soft chicken liver flavor was completely cooked away. I am not sure if they were just badly done on this particular day, or this is the way they do them, but I would take a pass. And get some more pickles.

Fried Chicken w/ Chicken livers behind

Hubby and I split a whole fried chicken because our server told us it was the most economical way to do it (it was $12.95 for an entire chicken). You could really tell they were taking a whole chicken and cutting it up—it was hard to decipher some of the pieces right away because they cut them different from typical pieces of fried chicken. They cut the breast pieces into smaller bits—maybe to be able to cook them uniformly. The chicken was good. It was the kind that was probably just lightly seasoned and then fried without little if any batter or breading. Just the chicken skin. A little salt and pepper and it was a tasty meal. Not the best fried chicken I have ever had, but certainly not the worst. And hubby and I managed to eat that whole chicken. Sides are separate –and they only have mashed potatoes on certain nights and only until they run out. (I really would like to try them because it sounds like they are very popular and run out quickly). I had a baked potato just because I couldn’t imagine getting another fried thing.

If you ever find yourself in that area and want a cheap, independent place to grab dinner (a fried dinner that is), this is a good place to stop. Just pay attention to the directions—one route we took had us going down a gravel road for a mile or so before we found the place. The restaurant is run by a family, and the people working there clearly care about the place. I would say it could use some updating in the décor, but if they did, it would take away part of the divey charm.  I hope they don’t change a thing (well, except maybe the chicken livers).

Side note, anyone got any good places to recommend in the Batesville area for our next rendezvous?

Fireside Inn

2174 County Line Road

Greensburg, IN 47240

812/934-4174

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fireside-Inn-Enochsburg/237529667427

Tegry Bisto

I know there is really good sushi, and sushi that is just okay, but this was my first experience with bad sushi. Hubby and I were going to a party near Brownsburg and thought trying a new sushi place was a good idea so we didn’t eat too much for dinner so we could partake in the hors d'oeuvres that would be served at the party as well.

I was happy to find an independent restaurant on this side of town, amongst what looks like a lot of chains. I was impressed with how crowded the restaurant was as well; especially considering it was pretty early still. I was a little nervous about service after reading some things online, but our server was prompt and brought us drinks right away. I ordered a bowl of miso soup ($2.50) and she brought it quickly. The broth was one of the better ones I have had, a little more depth to it, not just a clear broth. The stuff in it was weak though. Very few very teeny cubes of tofu and just a couple of pieces of seaweed and scallions.

We had already ordered our sushi at the same time and this was the part where I started to realize what people were talking about with service. It wasn’t our actual server; it was the length of time it took to get our sushi. And then after looking around, I realized most people had not gotten their food yet either and they were here before us. So we settled in for a wait.  It was probably a good 45-55 minutes before we got the sushi.

I guess the best of what we ordered was probably the caterpillar roll ($8.75) but probably because it actually had the least amount of fish in it. It was a roll that had eel on the outside and was topped with thinly sliced avocado and eel sauce. It was fairly simple and not bad. Not great, but not bad.

So yeah, the other rolls just weren’t very good. I wouldn’t say the fish wasn’t fresh, but it wasn’t the level of quality I have had nearly everywhere else. One roll, the crunch rainbow ($12.99) was particularly bad. The varying types of fish across the top were off. There were at least two pieces of fish that I had to actually remove from my mouth because they were so chewy. The inside of that roll was shrimp tempura, spring mix and avocado. It was really chewy inside too, which was pretty off-putting as well. The shrimp had clearly been fried quite a while ago and the tempura coating on it was soggy. I have seen sushi places use panko-crusted shrimp that were pre-fried, but if you are using tempura, they need to be fresh. And crisp on the edges.

The last roll we had was the cherry blossom roll ($11.99), which was spicy tuna, cilantro and jalapeno inside and tuna on the outside with 3 sauces. Again, the tuna on top wasn’t very good and the herbs and jalapeno, which should have given it crispness, did not. 

Hubby also had a couple of pieces of salmon nigiri ($4.99). This really tells you about the fish quality because, in general, sushi places seem to save the best cuts for this type of presentation since it is really just the fish. These pieces of salmon were practically flavorless and were not as tender as nigiri should be.

Part of the problem was every part of the experience was off somehow, not just the fish. The nori inside the roll was too chewy, the rice was crumbly and the rolls were just put together very sloppily. And it sort of seemed like one of them may have been sitting awhile before they brought it to us (which is crazy considering how long it took). Even the soy sauce tasted funny. Almost too salty or something. It tasted cheap. And I am pretty sure they store the wine in the same fridge with the fish. At least it tastes like it.

Needless to say, this is a place that we will not be repeating and to be quite frank, between the quality of the food, and the length of time it takes to get it, I am quite surprised the place is so busy.

Tegry Bistro

1521 North Green Street

Indianapolis, IN 46112

317/858-9505

www.tegrybistro.net

Thunderbird

I finally got over to Thunderbird with a bunch of girlfriends the other day—all of us are into food and none of us had been, so we were looking forward to trying the hot new place. I also went back more recently with hubby and some other friends for a second try.

"Slapped Actress"

The first thing I noticed on that first visit was the interior is quite comfortable—a lot of wood, but I liked that it wasn’t overwhelmingly filled with seats and tables so you could still carry on a conversation all the way throughout the night, even when it got quite crowded, and even when they turned the music up at the end. Our server was exceptionally friendly and helpful, going out of her way to help one of our party who had dietary restrictions. I also appreciated that there were no long delay to get our drinks, which seems to be a problem with fancy cocktails these days. And although it is the new hip place, I appreciated that it didn’t feel snooty or too hipster-ish. Even for someone my age. Again, on the second visit, the server was a bit more down to business, but extremely efficient. We never waited for drinks or foods and she checked on us often.

Pimento Cheese Grilled Cheese
(thanks Suzanne!)

Clearly, a lot of thought and creativity has been put into the cocktail list, which is much bigger than the wine and food list, but it is meant to be a bar, so it is only fitting. I started with a “Slapped Actress” which was a tangy blend of vodka, apple brandy, lemon, lime and sugar ($9). I really enjoyed it and because it was so tart (which I like), it made me sip it a bit slower than I might have otherwise. On my second visit, I tried the classic daiquiri ($9)(not your frozen 70s type). It was similarly limey and quite tasty as well. On both occasions, I then switched to a glass of wine from the very small, but decent list.

Fried chicken hoecake

We all ordered a bunch of food and luckily, I was with people both visits who are amenable to sharing. The things I enjoyed the most were the pimento cheese grilled cheese ($10), the biscuit with duck neck gravy and a sunny side up egg ($10), and the fried chicken and hoecake sandwich ($10). I like that they are smaller portions so you can try several things—also, they are all fairly rich flavors and any more of any of them would probably be too much.

B&G

As they were, they were creative riffs on comfort food (sensing a “comfort” theme throughout). I really enjoyed the pimento cheese grilled cheese because it was very well balanced.  On our second visit, we all liked it so much, we ordered a second one. I like pimento cheese in small doses, but I find often the flavor of the cheese overwhelms everything else in a dish. This one had a layer of pickles and slightly underripe tomatoes with the cheese, which brightened it up. I am not sure if the intention was to use slightly green tomatoes, but these tomatoes along with the pickles were just right on the sandwich, adding a bit of bitterness with the rich cheese. The bread was perfectly grilled as well—giving the exact right buttery crunch when you ate it. Again, I am not one to order pimento cheese often, but I would (and will) get this sandwich again—probably on every visit.

Shrimp & Grits

The piece of fried chicken on the hoecake sandwich was a thigh and was decently seasoned (I could have stood just a bit more spice on the actual chicken). It was topped with melted cheese and served between two thin, light slightly sweet, slightly savory pancakes (hoecakes).  I appreciated the pickled red onions that were served alongside, giving the sandwich a punch of acid when you put them on top as well (and you should). I had part of one on each visit and enjoyed it both times.

croquettes

The biscuits and gravy were similar—a tender biscuit under a generous portion of the gravy, which had good flavor, although I didn’t get a lot of meat in mine. The egg was perfectly cooked—runny yolk, solid white. (There are a lot of fried eggs topping things here and they seem to have cooking them just right down). A touch more spice might have been nice (at least a bit more salt and pepper), but the dish was tasty.

hush puppies

Slightly less successful for me was the shrimp and grits ($10) which I had some of on both visits. There was nothing inherently wrong with it—the shrimp were actually cooked right (butter poached) and the grits had nice texture. It just seemed a little plain to me. Not bad, but just didn’t wow me. I would have said the same about the croquettes ($8) after my first visit, but on my second visit they were much better--the second time they were more tender and ham-flavored (they list ham hocks as an ingredient). The first time, we didn’t really get a lot of ham in them. I appreciated the kick from the red pepper aioli.  It was also a good portion and easy to share (more of a snack to share though than something you would want to eat on your own as a main dish). On the second visit we also had the hush puppies with gravy aioli. Ehh…I definitely preferred the croquettes. These just didn’t have as much flavor to them.

Kale salad

On my second visit we also tried the kale salad ($10), which was a nice fresh alternative to what is a lot of fried items. The dressing was creamy and had a tangy kick to it—there was a poached egg as well. Once the yolk was broken, it added even more creaminess to the mix. There were also some sweet potatoes and pickled peppers. 

Pickle plate

There were mixed reviews at our table on my first visit about the pickle plate ($4) because the pickled veggies had a distinct clove flavor, which not everyone was a fan of (I didn’t try any but the onions and I really liked the onions).  Also, the cornbread ($4) drenched in maple syrup came across more as a dessert because it was so cloyingly sweet (again, I didn’t try it, as it just looked too sweet for me to eat with the savory courses). 

Both times, we did have the beignets for dessert—they were tasty—more like little doughnut holes—lighter than traditional beignets. The espresso cream cheese sauce was quite sweet.  I thought the baby fennel was unnecessary in a dessert, even though it added color.

Beignets

I like Thunderbird and I think it very successfully fills a niche in Fountain Square. The comfortable atmosphere and the well-executed bar food with Southern character makes you want to return. It’s food that is familiar but designed with flair by Chef Carlos Salazar—you can certainly see his distinctive style in the plating. It’s a place to grab a drink and some tasty tidbits. (Especially since you can get your drinks quickly!) I look forward to return visits.

Thunderbird

1127 Shelby Street

Indy 46203

317/974-9580

www.thunderbirdindy.com 

Long Thanh - Revisit

Hubby and I had a quick lunch the other day at Long Thanh. We needed it to be close to home and we wanted something not horribly filling because we had a big dinner ahead of us. 

We went in with the intention to order the Vietnamese pancake ($6.95) and the rare lemon beef ($7.95), which we did, but then as I scanned the menu, I noticed something called “butter wings” ($3.50).  Described as chicken wings fried in butter and garlic, how could I say no? (My prices might be slightly off, as my carry out menu is pretty old).

The pancake was good—as you might know, these are one of my favorite things in Vietnamese restaurants. This one falls squarely in the good category. I like that all the stuff inside the crepe (shrimp, pork, bean sprouts and onions) are all warm and have been lightly sautéed (even the sprouts). I like sprouts, bit in a warm dish, I like it when they have just a little of the raw edge off of them. I also liked that they gave you not only fresh lettuce to wrap with the pancake, but fresh cilantro as well, which I used all over my half. I like the fresh green flavor. It is a good crepe, just slightly crisp on the edges but hearty enough for al the fillings, which are generous at Long Thanh. I like the seasoned fish sauce-this one having just a bit more chili flavor than most.

I love the rare beef salad. I recently listed this in my favorite things post, and it still stands. It is really tangy with lemon (and lime I am guessing) and even with the freshly fried rice chips, you feel like it is pretty healthy. There is shredded lettuce and julienned carrots and onions, which are all marinated well in the citrus and some chopped peanuts on top for a bit of crunch and salt. There is basil and cilantro mixed in as well. And little pieces of the very thinly sliced rare beef—the beef is very tender. I love making a bite with all the parts of the dish and putting them on the rice crackers and listen to them pop from the juices. 

The chicken wings were new to us though, and even though they were killing the moderately “healthy” aspect of our planned lunch, they were quite delicious. It was two whole wings split into pieces so you got two drumstick looking part and two of the flatter parts of the wing.  Then they tempura batter and fry them and they are seriously delicious. On their own they’re good, but in the spicy soy based dipping sauce they are even better. I can’t really think they are cooked in butter, but they do taste buttery. Seriously, you should give them a go if you like fried chicken. And dang, are they big wings….the kind that makes you scared to see the chicken they might come from.

We’re pretty lucky to have this little place in our neighborhood. There is some very good Vietnamese food in Indy, and I think more people are coming to appreciate it—and Long Thanh, while in no way fancy at all, is up there with the very good ones. What do you guys think?

Long Thanh

5707 East 71^st Street

Indy  46220

317/842-6499

Ambrosia - Revisit

Ok, flat out, in my opinion, Italian food is one of Indy’s weak links. We have a ton of Italian places, but I am always amazed and how similar their menus are (and the food as well). Honestly, it’s a struggle to get me to any of them. My sister and her husband tend to like it more than I do, and it was their birthdays, so we decided to give Ambrosia a try—it’s not new, but I was looking forward to checking out their new space down on College and Kessler.

First of all, their bread is excellent. Excellent and completely addictive. It’s a sliced Italian loaf, served warm and they serve it with very tasty olive oil that is on the table. We had A LOT of it.

The menu there is kind of weirdly organized. There are two sections of antipasti in two different places, with salads and soups in between. I sort of thought maybe it was because one was hot and one was cold, but that is not the case. Also, they have the pastas divided up into two sections as well with no particular theme…so make sure you pay attention to the whole menu.

We started with the artichokes ($10) and the octopus starter ($10). My sister and hubby had the grilled shrimp wrapped in prosciutto ($12). I love artichokes, and you don’t see them too often on menus. These were nice because they were just the hearts and stems, which are the best parts. They were lightly marinated and grilled and served with some roasted red peppers and on top of a balsamic dressing. I would get these again. The octopus was very good as well I thought. I liked the way they served a piece of the tentacles on top of a cooked sliced potatoes, with some arugula, chopped tomatoes and drizzled with a vinaigrette. The octopus was tender and the slices of potatoes gave it a heartier feel. The tomatoes and greens gave it a little zip. Another one I liked.  I wasn’t as big of a fan of the shrimp appetizer because I felt the shrimp was tough. My sister and her husband really liked it though, so maybe it was just my shrimp. And the La Quercia prosciutto they use is very tasty. 

My sister and I also shared a salad—the “mista” ($7). It was mixed greens with finely diced tomatoes and Gorgonzola with balsamic dressing. The salad tasted good, and even the tomatoes were tasty—not the whitish out of season ones you expect. There was plenty of Gorgonzola and dressing. The problem with this salad was that the greens were really wilty. I am not sure if they were not super fresh or if they maybe sat under a heat lamp for a second or what, but they were too soft. My brother-in-law had a Caesar and hubby had a bite and both said it was good.

Moving on to the entrées, things went a bit south for me. Hubby had the best entrée dish, the tortellini filled with meat, and in a pancetta and Parmesan cream sauce ($17). It was a rich sauce, but the tortellini was fresh and the whole dish had nice slightly salty flavor from the pancetta. I had a special, which was a shrimp dish in a lighter garlic and lemon-type sauce with diced tomatoes. I enjoyed the fresh flavor of the seasonings, but again the shrimp themselves were overcooked. I also thought the potatoes served underneath were tasty. Sliced similarly to the ones with the octopus, but these were seared and were crisp on the edges. I really liked the very crisp ones the best. I substituted the green beans for some spinach, which they did after I asked, and it was good—fresh spinach with just some garlic and quickly sautéed. Parts of the dish were good and the overall flavor wasn’t bad I thought, just the main aspect of the dish (the shrimp) was off.

My sister had the linguine with clams (and some added shrimp) ($16.50 + $5 for shrimp). I don’t know about this one. The one clam I had was sandy and the “white wine butter sauce” with olive oil and garlic wasn’t overly flavorful. This is a pretty simple dish, but this one could have used a bit more to it I think. Maybe I am just jaded because I make this one at home pretty successfully.

We shared a couple of desserts as well—the tartufo ($7) and the cannoli ($6). I liked the cannoli because they did a good job of keeping the shell of the cannoli crust. I didn’t seem like it had been made days early and filled and then frozen. I also enjoyed the slightly less sweet flavor of the ricotta based filling, although it seemed like it was calling out for a drizzle of some semi-sweet chocolate or something to make it just a little sweeter. The tartufo was good as well, and you certainly got your chocolate quotient here. It was chocolate gelato filled with frozen custard and rolled in cocoa. Between the two, it was a nice balance.

Overall, I think the starters (and bread) were really quite good. I could easily make a meal out of first courses, or maybe split an entrée (likely hubby’s pasta) or skip them altogether. The interior is nice (although I never ate inside at the old location so I can’t really compare it) and seems modern and fresh. Our server was very good and helpful, answering several of our questions efficiently. We had drinks and refills when we needed them and our food was brought out with proper pacing. My one piece of advice, skip any of the shrimp dishes.

Ambrosia

5903 N. College Ave

Indy 46220

317/255-3096

www.ambrosiaitalian.com 

SoBro Café - Revisit

Recently on a Sunday, we were leaving the Fairgrounds with the kids (Lego Brickworld) and we were all starving. We intended to go to Taste, but they were too busy so we ducked around the corner to SoBro Café and snatched up the last table. I hadn’t been in quite awhile, but was anxious to try the biscuits and gravy ($7.99) again, as it is one of my favorites in town (I even wrote about it recently in the newest edition of Edible Indy.) Hubby and I decided to share this as well as the “Good Morning” wrap ($8.99).

As before, I still love those biscuits and gravy. One of the things that makes them so good is that the biscuits underneath are so dang delicious. They are fluffy, but dense enough to stand up to the gravy.  The gravy tastes heavily of the breakfast sausage being used. The thing I like about it is that it isn’t overly gloppy the way gravy sometimes is. It has a lighter, slightly thinner consistency. My son tried it for the first time and his eyes lit up. Pretty sure I know what he’ll be getting next time we go.

I was glad we split it with something else though, because even though the gravy is not as heavy as some, it is still too much for me to eat an entire plate. The “Good Morning” wrap was a good match. It was scrambled eggs with sautéed mushrooms and cheddar, as well as spinach (I had them hold the red peppers) and garlic aioli. This was certainly not as heavy as the B&G. I really liked the addition of the garlic aioli, which added to the moisture level and upped the taste level as well, giving it more than just the tastes of the individual ingredients. I am a firm believer in some sort of sauce or spread to tie sandwiches and wraps together.

The kids had a bison burger ($10.49) and the French toast ($6.99). Both were quite happy. I would be interested to try the bison burger with everything they normally serve it with, as my daughter just wanted it with cheese. It was a good-sized burger though and the meat was lightly seasoned and very moist—and you have to be careful with bison not to cook it too long and totally dry it out.

I was happy that our service didn’t waiver throughout the meal, even though the restaurant was very full. Sometimes you worry in a place with such a small kitchen when it is so crowded (and there were a couple of large parties). Our food came in a timely fashion and our server was very friendly.  And for those of you looking for brunch spots where you can also have a drink, I had a lovely mimosa with my meal as well. 

I am looking forward to getting those biscuits and gravy again soon.

SoBro Café

653 East 52^nd Street

Indy 46205

317/920-8121

www.sobrocafe.com 

Soupremacy

Hmmm… Everything I read about this place has been extremely positive. And it’s been so damn cold for so long, soup seems like an ideal lunch option. I also love the concept of getting three different flavors to get to try at once (the trio is $6.25). When I heard about this place, I had flashes of the soup nazi episode on Seinfeld. 

Alas, I can’t say I was overly impressed with any of the soups I had. The online favorite seemed to be the tomato bisque, finished with a drizzle of sour cream and a bit of cheese. So that was my first choice for my trio. Okay, my biggest problem with it was that it was so thick it was almost the consistency of pudding. Flavor-wise it wasn’t bad I guess, even though all of the soups benefited from pepper and salt (which is located in packets by the soda machine).

The chicken noodle was probably my favorite I guess—interesting use of a different shape of noodle than your typical egg noodles—these were more like shells. Again though, it needed salt and pepper to liven it up. I had maybe a couple chunks of chicken in there (very small ones) and a few noodles. Not too much else to it (as in veggies, etc).

The chicken velvet rounded out my trio, and is one of the two soups they offer daily (they change the other choices up). It was mostly a really heavy creamy taste with not too much seasoning to it. I think I had like one piece of chicken in mine. I have had some really good bowls of chicken velvet soup, and I get it isn’t overly complex, but this was just too bland for me. No way I could finish a larger bowl of it. I also had a taste of @wibia’s beef barley and it was one of the better ones as well—I think maybe I prefer their broth-based soups. The potato leek he also ordered also suffered the fate of the chicken velvet—just kind of bland.

They also serve Amelia’s bread, which is a nice local addition, although my “baguette” was quite flat and hard (maybe a day old or something).  @wibia’s semolina was fresher. My favorite thing of the whole meal was the potato salad that I ordered as a side actually. It was red potatoes in a creamy base and it had blue cheese crumbles and fresh dill that came in a separate little compartment in the lid of the plastic container to sprinkle in. Very cute (even though I don’t know why putting the cheese in from the beginning would be bad). 

The only weird thing about the physical location is that it is very small. A counter to order and then 10-12 seats along bars along the walls. In the winter, when you want hot soup, the door is constantly opening and freezing you if you are eating inside. And in the summer, when that won’t be a problem, I personally won’t be having the same craving for soup. They do have some good sounding salads, and based on liking the potato salad the best, that might be the way to go. A lot of people were coming in for carry-out though, so maybe that's the majority of their business.

Full disclosure, hubby claims I am not a big soup person, but I tell him I am just picky about my soups. But who knows, maybe he’s right. I do really appreciate a small quick lunch place downtown (just off the Circle) that is independently owned, and that they utilize lots of local products as well. The people working there were also really friendly.

Anyway, I am guessing people disagree with me based on reading stuff online, so what soup have you had that you really liked?

Soupremacy

7 East Market Street

Indy 46204

317/423-0780

www.soupremacyindy.com